COOLANGATTA, Queensland/Australia (Thursday, March 12, 2015) – The Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by BOQ, the opening stop on the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour, has been called ON today. Competition will begin with Round 3 at 7:05 a.m. local time at Snapper Rocks, with Rounds 4 and 5 on standby. The Roxy Pro Gold Coast has been called off for the day. “There’s a lot more power in the water today,” said WSL Commissioner, Kieren Perrow. “It’s great to see that the swell has filled in and it’s more organized, bigger and cleaner, so we are are on. We’ve got a big today today and will be finishing tomorrow. Today we’ll just run the Quiksilver Pro, we’ll start with Round 3 and then go into Rounds 4 and 5.” First up will be 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) taking on Brazilian rookie Italo Ferreira (BRA), who caused an upset in Round 2 yesterday by eliminating Adrian Buchan (AUS). Reigning WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) faces Glenn Hall (IRL) in Round 3 Heat 6, followed by Mick Fanning (AUS) and Dusty Payne (HAW) in Heat 7. Surfline, official forecaster for the World Surf League, are calling for: We’ll see a further build in E tradeswell on Thursday and into Friday in both size and power, although we are not expecting a major swell. Stronger SE flow will also develop, especially in the afternoons, for the second half of the week. Tropical Cyclone Pam is currently located just east of Vanuatu and is on a slow south-southwest track. Although Pam does not look to directly provide surf before the contest waiting period closes, it will help to enhance the tradeswell a bit over the next couple days. The Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Gold Coast will be webcast LIVE at WorldSurfLeague.com. The world’s best surfing will also be broadcast LIVE on Fox Sports in Australia, MCS Extreme in France, EDGE Sports in China, South Korea Malaysia and other territories and the WSL’s new partner in Brazil, Globo TV. Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Round 3 Match-Ups (1st to R4, 2nd = 13th):Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Italo Ferreira (BRA) Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA) Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) Heat 5: Nat Young (USA) vs. Julian Wilson (AUS) Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Glenn Hall (IRL) Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW) Heat 8: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS) Heat 9: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Freddy Patacchia Jr. Heat 10: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Matt Banting (AUS) Heat 11: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Filipe Toledo (BRA) Heat 12: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) The Quiksilver Pro runs in conjunction with the Roxy Pro Gold Coast. Roxy Pro Gold Coast Quarterfinal Match-Ups (1st to SF, 2nd=5th):Heat 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) vs. Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) Heat 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) vs. Silvana Lima (BRA) Heat 3: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Courtney Conlogue (USA) Heat 4: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA)

About the World Surf League The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centers in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.